Today I went into the woods for the first time in a month. My, how it has changed! The wild roses have already bloomed and dropped their petals. I missed that. Do you see the robin there on the ground to the left of the big tree? You can see its red breast and its yellow beak lit up by sunshine. The woods are full of small lovely things scampering through leaves and fluttering through trees busy, busy gathering and gleaning. 

Thank you for your kind comments on my last post. It took me awhile, but I have replied to each one of them. Your prayers and good thoughts have lifted my spirits. Amy is feeling so much better. She was able to start her new job this week. I am relieved and grateful and happy. I believe that: 

The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him;
He is their mighty shield and strong support,
A shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, 
A guard against stumbling, a help against falling. 
                                      Sirach 34:16

 

And I believe that prayer is love. When asked how she was able to love people whom others considered to be rejects of humanity, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta said, "My secret is very simple: I pray. Through prayer I become one in love with Christ."

In the woods life is simple, interconnected and prolific from microscopic organisms to the mightiest oak tree. Life sustains life. Life gives purpose to life.

This afternoon, my son showed me this list: 

It made me wonder about a lot of things. The media warns us constantly about the problems of gun violence and narcotic addiction. To be sure, these are important issues. But, where is the cry of alarm about alcohol abuse--which kills 9 times as many people as guns? Or the failure of sex education and contraceptives to prevent pregnancy (which we have been told is The Answer by science and big pharmaceutical companies)?  Why are so many more lives lost through abortion in the United States than by any other cause?

I looked up abortion and learned that more than half of all abortion patients in the United States are 20-30 year old women. Shockingly, 59% of abortions in 2014 were obtained by women who had at least one previous birth. I was surprised that only 12% of abortions were performed on teenagers. I was under the impression (by the media? by my own delusions?) that teen pregnancy was responsible for the high abortion rate. It was especially interesting to me that 51% of abortion patients said they used contraceptives in the month they became pregnant. Clearly, there must be another Answer beyond the ones given by science/corporate medicine. 

We tend not to use the word heresy much these days as if it were a thing of the past, but Anthony Esolen believes a new heresy--a fatal error--is corrupting the integrity of Christianity and modern society. He has written an excellent, short piece about it for Touchstone magazine that every Christian should read.  

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